Norv was a HC for over 8 years in the NFL before he came to SD. His record was sub .500. He had problems with players in Washington and Oakland. His record as a HC was well known. As a head coach he had made the PO one time. This is all public knowledge available to the CMB.

On the positive side he installed the offensive system that got handed to Cam. He knew our offensive system the best out of all other coaches. Since we had lost our OC, Norv was a logical choice if one did not want to rock the boat. He also led Dallas to 2 SB as an OC. The problem being we could not hire him as an OC as he held that title in SF.

One should be able to see the logic in AJ and Dean's decision. On the other hand low risk usually leads to low reward.

IMHO the Chargers were left in a VERY bad situation by Marty S. He played a game of chicken with AJ & lost by trying to hire his brother as DC. IIRC it was like Feb when he did this - all of the highly sought after "hot" names had been hired & we had to take what was available. That stuck the Bolts with no good choices @ HC. The fact that Norv has been given so many opportunities boggles my mind. He should have been on a 2-3 year leash from the outset - he wasn't the best available - he was the best available AT THAT TIME. So - AJ made the best decision he could given the circumstances - but he didn't have the cajones to cut Norv loose when it wasn't working out. THAT was AJ's key failing. Complain all you want about VJ (his agents were idiots), Sproles (he made a fortune here by being a franchise player), Brees (had no shoulder when he left), Turner (Spanos picked LT over Turner) or whomever else you'd like. AJ is a good evaluator of talent, marginal at PR/player relations but his keeping of Norv will likely be his undoing.

The bigger question in my mind is:
As an owner, who do you choose between? The gm or the coach?

My answer would be the coach. He is the one that takes what is given and makes it good or bad. Good coaches make good players great. Bad coaches make good players average. Face its the NFL, they are all good players compared to the alternative.